Obsession Is Forever
by redtrouble
Summary: f!Smuggler/Skavak. Maybe you think I'm crazy... maybe you were thinking it, too. Either way, there is really something charming about the bad boys.
1. Unforgettable

**Note:** I realize many of you will think I'm crazy, but once I started giving this pairing serious thought, I wound up wanting it for my canon. The story you will read is purely the relationship progression of Skavak and my female smuggler, so I apologize is the telling is jarring. I imagine you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't already have an understanding of the smuggler storyline, so I'm not too worried about anyone being confused. A lot you will recognize dialogue from the game, but a lot of it is new, too. I hope you guys enjoy this even if you do think I'm insane.

As always, I don't own Star Wars, just Alico. All rights reserved. Et cetera.

* * *

_The problem with hatred is that it inevitably leads to obsession. Not like love, which is pure. Or at least purer than any other emotion. But hatred is negative. It burrows deep inside of you, overtakes you, makes you angry and paranoid and bitter. Hatred is all-consuming, until all you can do is think about that thing that you hate—you eat, breathe, and live it. You become obsessed. And then what you hate the most is bound to you forever._

**Chapter One – Unforgettable**

His face was entirely forgettable. Skavak's. Sure, one might think the tattoos would draw a person in, but after every alien and culturally-inclined Captain Alico had seen in her life, he was average. Brown hair slicked and tied back, blue eyes, clean shaven, and a tribal tattoo on his right side—totally normal. He even started with an if-I-had-a-credit-for-every-time-I-heard-that kind of line. "Hello, gorgeous." All she saw was a cargo courier sweet-talking out of second-nature.

And then he stole her ship.

She had to admit, if he was looking to get her attention that was the way to do it. And that was the first time she really looked at him, looked at him over a holocall and memorized his face, burned it into her memory. Their first real words vibrated between her ears like a blaster shot to the skull.

"Aw, what's the matter, Coros?" Skavak whined. "Did I hurt your feelings? Be thankful you're alive, kid."

He glimpsed her over his shoulder and turned to face her, grinning like only a conman could. She took in his features, every last detail.

"Be worried I'm not dead," she told him. "Do you have any idea who you're messing with?"

"What makes you think I care?" he countered, and then bowed gracefully to her. "On behalf of Ord Mantell's glorious freedom fighters, I thank you for your blasters, your ship, and a big laugh. Have a nice day."

And then he was gone.

/

Alico climbed the ramp up to Viidu's room as Corso checked the rest of the hangar.

"I can't believe you fried Viidu, sweetheart." Skavak's voice was unmistakable. "So what if he caught you talking to separatists."

She paused at the door and leaned against the threshold, spying Syreena talking to another holoprojection of Skavak while Viidu's corpse lingered nearby.

"He threatened to turn me in to Rogun the Butcher," Syreena explained. "I had to kill him. Besides, now we can finally be together."

Alico wanted to choke. She narrowed her eyes on Skavak's face and wondered what woman could be attracted to that. His arrogance was nauseating. Personal vendetta aside, there was nothing attractive about the womp rat.

"Yeah…" he agreed casually, "and the thing is, my cargo hold is full and, y'know, I'm busy with work." He almost smiled. "I'll call you sometime, though. I promise."

Womanizer. Typical. Classic, even. She almost snorted at the great cosmic joke this was turning into. She prayed he tried his charm on her some day. She would bury the mudlicker.

"What are you talking about?" Syreena ground through clenched teeth. "You promised to get me out of here. I've done everything for you Skavak!"

When she heard Corso's footsteps coming toward her, Alico pushed off the door and silently strode into the room.

"You did it for the money—same as me. The only difference is you're not actually getting paid." Skavak looked up, saw her approach, and grinned. "See you around, darling," he said, and though he was talking to Syreena, he was looking at Alico. Her skin crawled just thinking about it.

And then he was gone. Again.

One thing stuck with her though. It was when Syreena said that Skavak could "charm the armor off a Mandalorian." At first, she couldn't help but wonder how many idiots had to the roam the galaxy to be taken in by a nerfherder like Skavak. And then she remembered the galaxy was crawling with them.

/

After the chaos of the attack on the Esseles subsided and they were back on course, Alico retreated to the passenger quarters for some deserved privacy. It was wreaking havoc on her to be on someone else's ship—shuttling to a planet she'd flown to herself dozens of times. Passenger ships were noisy. Smelly… not bad like a Hutt's slave freighter, but like a city piled with people. She was reminded with every sensation that she wasn't alone. She missed being alone. She missed her ship.

Skavak was a dead man.

Alico slipped into her bunk and pulled the sheets over her head. She drew out her holocommunicater and plugged in the chipset labeled "Hit List" where she had stored holos of everyone she planned to kill at some point in her life. She pulled up the recordings of Skavak's calls and set the projector next to her face as she nestled in to sleep. She stared at him, watched his expressions, his hand gestures, his mannerisms. She memorized them, played them back, pieced him together like a puzzle. She assimilated all of the facts, filled in the gaps she could, and guessed at the rest. She made him unforgettable.

And as her eyes drifted closed, she listened to the sound of his voice. Made it a wavelength she could never mishear. She tried to imagine how it would sound begging for mercy and screaming in death. She fell asleep sometime around the one-hundredth playing of, "See you around, darling."


	2. Finders Keepers

**Chapter Two – Finders Keepers**

For all the trouble she got into on Coruscant, there were only two questions burning her brain that she needed answering. "Where's my ship?" and "Where's Skavak?" The rest of it could get spaced. But every time she caught a whiff of his scent, she lost him again. It was frustrating as all hell, but closing the gap wasn't without its rewards. What Kixi had done for the cause had brightened her day. Mussing up his record was utterly gratifying, keeping him lonely and isolated was sheer genius, and in some small way satisfied her thirst for blood. She could barely contain her excitement at seeing him again, seeing the look on his face, seeing the frustration of her well-played hand.

And then she'd vape him.

Alico stared at her expression in the copper piping of the works. Short, auburn-brown hair that fell just below her jaw, amber eyes, fair skin, and all that barely contained by a smug sense of satisfaction. She could hear Skavak just around the corner from where she crouched in waiting. He was talking to Imperials and from her glimpses she counted four of them. She heard something about Skavak having a docking bay at the spaceport. It wouldn't be hard to find out which one. She glanced at her reflection again, at the small scar on her cheek—the reminder of the price of failure. She would never let herself be one-upped for long. She had learned her lessons in blood and it was time for Skavak to pay.

She nodded to Corso and stormed around the corner, blaster drawn. "Where's my ship, Skavak?" she exclaimed. The Imperial soldiers immediately raised their blaster rifles while the commander and Skavak gaped at her in surprise.

"Skavak! Is this some kind of trick?" the commander asked.

"Captain. Seriously." Skavak stepped right up to the barrel of her blaster and she somehow resisted squeezing the trigger. "I admire your persistence, but this is ridiculous."

"Skavak! Who is this woman?" the commander huffed. "One of your many conquests?"

Skavak chuckled and Alico almost choked. He confidently narrowed his gaze on her and grinned. "She wishes."

"You're gonna be a floor stain when we're done with you, Skavak," Corso growled protectively, nudging Skavak back with the butt of his rifle. He looked at Corso as if just now seeing he was there.

"Corso. I heard about your job," Skavak said enthusiastically. "Hey, don't let unemployment make you bitter, all right?" He transferred his gaze back to Alico and neatly folded his hands in front of him, smiling. "You the one who fouled up my identity record and sent half the galaxy chasing me? That wasn't very nice, Captain."

Alico returned his smile. "Wait 'til you see what I'm going to do next."

"I gotta ask. Was it necessary to tell every woman in the civilized galaxy that I have Bothan Nether Rot? That's just low."

"So is stealing a girl's ship and leaving her stranded on a war-torn planet."

"Didn't seem to stop you."

"Nothing can."

"I can think of a few things," he mumbled.

"Enough of this," the commander interjected. "The captain is your problem, Skavak. Deal with it."

"Commander," he began, finally tearing his gaze away from Alico, "would you mind vaporizing the captain for me? I've got places to be."

Before she even realized what was happening, Skavak was no longer in front of her. He was hitting concrete at top speed, racing for the exit.

"Skavak!" the commander angrily hollered after him. "Blast that scum!"

Alico and Corso exchanged glances and he jerked his head in the direction Skavak ran. Alico nodded understanding and split, hearing Corso's rifle immediately start blasting off. She turned the corner so fast she slid a little, eyeing her quarry's feet as he sprinted up the coil. She fired a few shots that pinged off the ground near his feet and then he was out of her sights. She followed him up the coil and through the maze-like network of the works, all close gaps, narrow corridors, and sharp turns.

As she rounded a corner, strong arms wrapped around her and locked her into place against a sturdy chest, free hand trying to wrestle her blaster out of her grip. He couldn't take it from her, but he did manage to redirect it to point at her skull. He was so close pressed against her like that that she could smell his cologne. Another marker, she told herself; another piece of him to never forget.

"Careful, Captain," he growled in her ear, grunting with the force he exerted to restrain her. "You wouldn't want to accidentally shoot yourself, now would you?"

"You slime, Skavak. Where the hell is my ship?"

"You mean _my_ ship?"

"Let's settle this once and for all, coward."

"You're in no position to make demands of me, Captain." He nuzzled her neck and she instinctively elbowed him in the gut. He mostly sank into the blow but she still heard a grunt from contact. "You're so feisty, sweetheart. Holding onto your anger like that will give you health problems."

"Whoring yourself out to the galaxy will, too. That's how you got the Rot."

"That's a nasty rumor and you know it, Captain. Now do yourself a favor and give up this ridiculous vendetta. You were beaten. It happens. It's not like you're the first to have his ship swiped."

"Steal ships all you want, Skavak," she growled, still struggling against him. He wasn't the biggest man she'd ever met, but he was taller and stronger than her. Not that it was hard. Alico was exceptionally tiny, coming in at 170 centimeters and skinny as a rail at 125 pounds. "I don't care what you take as long as it's not mine. But you took _my_ ship, and that's about the worst sin you can commit."

"I've done a lot worse than that, sweetheart," he whispered, pressing his lips to her ear. She shivered in disgust but forced herself to turn her head and look him in the eyes, his face so close their noses touched for a moment.

"You'll be rethinking that before the end," she told him. "I'll make you regret crossing me."

He grinned, ripped her blaster out of her hands, tossed it across the way, and pinned her against the wall.

"You're so cute when you're deluded, Captain," he murmured and leaned in to kiss her. She jerked her knee up to catch him in the groin and he dodged so that she barely managed to clip him. He growled as he stumbled back but recovered quickly, throwing himself against her before she could plant her fist in his face. This time he did kiss her. It was so sudden and lasted only a moment that she didn't have time to react before they heard Corso shouting for her from down the coil. Skavak released her. "See you around, sweetheart."

By the time Alico reached her blaster, he was gone. A nasty feeling settled in her gut as Corso came over the ramp. So far, every time she had caught up to him, he had gotten away. It didn't bode well. Maybe he was just a coward that couldn't face her in a real fight, but that was only useful if he wasn't such a fast runner. Corso had once said Skavak was always good at making an exit. As much as she hated to admit it, he had proved it true so far.

"You all right, Captain?" Corso asked with the hint of his country drawl. "You look a little flushed."

"Corso," she said when her farm boy reached a hand out to help her up. "We need to get to the spaceport. Now."


	3. Nostalgia for Infinity

**Note: **I actually got the name of Alico's ship from Alistair Reynold's _Revelation Space_ series. I just loved that name for a ship!

* * *

**Chapter Three – Nostalgia for Infinity**

Alico stared in awe as she gazed upon her ship in the hangar. It was beautiful, filling her with a sense of awe and wonder. That ship was her whole universe and now that she had it back… it was like losing an arm and then suddenly having it grown back. It was foreign, miraculous, and it filled her with a sense of being whole.

"Wow," Corso gasped.

"Isn't she beautiful?"

"Sure is, Captain."

Alico ran her fingers over the metalwork as she crested the ramp to the airlock. "Welcome aboard the _Nostalgia for Infinity_," she told Corso and popped open the lock. Inside, she took a deep breath and reveled in the familiarity of home. She walked the rounded corridor again, poked her head inside every room and closet and smuggler's hole. Everything was in good order.

Except for the strange woman and the collection of junk holed up in her cargo hold. She narrowed her gaze on the curvy back as she walked in, preparing to come face to face with another one of Skavak's infamous ex-girlfriends.

"I expected to be the only woman on this ship," the sultry voice said as she approached. She turned, showing off a handsome face. "Are you one of Skavak's special friends?"

Alico grinned. "I was just about to ask you the same question."

"Skavak and I are anything but friends," she replied with a look like there was a bad taste in her mouth. "Frankly, I don't know what girls see in him."

"That makes two of us."

"Then we should get along just fine. My name's Risha. I've been traveling with Skavak as part of a business arrangement. He and I had a deal to deliver the things you see here." She motioned to the junk stacked in the cargo hold. A rusty old droid, a wild and ferocious caged beast, a man sealed in carbonite, a head—wait, a head? Alico quirked a brow but decided not to ask.

"Skavak isn't known for honoring his deals," she told Risha. "You picked a bad partner."

"Then maybe my luck is about to change." She smiled. "I think you might be a much better partner. For one, you don't call me 'sweetheart' every two minutes."

"Let's hear your offer and we'll see," Alico said, folding her arms over her chest.

"My offer is simple: I make you filthy rich. It's a pretty straight-forward business model." The holocom started beeping right at that moment. The girls exchanges knowing glances. "What do you know? That's Skavak now. This should be an interesting conversation."

The girls headed out to the terminal in the central part of the ship and Risha opened the line. Skavak appeared before them as a blue projection. Now that she had her ship back, she felt a lot more relaxed. She still hated his guts and definitely intended to kill him, but revenge suddenly felt like a deed to be saved for another day.

"You're late, Skavak," Risha announced, "and I just made a new friend. I think you two will loathe each other."

Skavak looked from Risha to Alico and glared. "Congratulations, Captain," he growled, and for the first time since they had met Alico detected real anger in his voice. It made her gut squirm happily. "You're officially number one on my list of people to kill. When I get my hands on you, you'll wish you never left Ord Mantell."

"Ready when you are, Skavak," she said casually. "Come and get me anytime you want, 'sweetheart'."

"You can bet on it, and I guarantee you won't see me coming. I don't know how you two bested those Imperials, but next time I'll kill you myself. Assuming Rogun the Butcher doesn't get you first. I sold all those blasters you were supposed to deliver for him on Ord Mantell." He laughed. "I can't imagine he'll be happy that you lost them."

No. He wouldn't be happy. But she didn't have time to think about that and she certainly wasn't going to give Skavak the satisfaction of seeing her sweat.

"He'll be even less happy after I fry him," she growled.

"You honestly think you can kill someone like Rogun the Butcher?" he gaped. "Where do you get these delusions?"

"Same place you got yours when you thought you could steal my ship and get away with it!" Alico shot back.

"You just wait, schutta."

"You sound angry. Did I make you mad?"

"Are you done posturing, Skavak?" Risha cut in, sounding bored. "The captain and I have cargo to deliver."

Skavak shook his head, narrowing his gaze on her. "Don't even think about cutting me out of this deal, Risha!"

It was good to see him getting riled up. This was about to be Alico's new favorite holorecording.

"'Finders keepers.' Isn't that what you always say? Not my fault the captain here beat you to the big prize."

"Sweetheart," he said seriously, "you two just made the biggest mistake of your lives."

When he cut the comm-channel, Risha groaned as if the whole ordeal had been painful.

"I thought that blowhard would never switch off," she said. "So, we were discussing how I could make you fabulously wealthy."

"We were," Alico agreed, watching Risha wander back toward the cargo hull. She started to follow her but stopped to glance back at the holoterminal. She zeroed in on the data-store and then continued after Risha. "Fabulously wealthy."


	4. The Vault

**Chapter Four – The Vault**

Alico had to admit, seeing Skavak's three thugs gathered outside of the vault banging their heads against it made her smile just a bit. When the big one with the mohawk and cybergear bolted to his face saw her, she could have sworn she saw his cybernetic eyes go wide in shock.

"What the—? Who the—? How'd you—?" he stammered.

"Was that a question?" she mused. "Or are you just not big on completing sentences?"

"You're just—I can't believe—you're not supposed to be here!" He jammed a finger threateningly in her direction. "We've been through ten kinds of pain getting to this vault. And not to watch you open it first." He ripped the holocommunicator off his belt and dialed a frequency. Skavak appeared soon after. Alico folded her arms across her chest in giddy excitement. "Skavak, you there?" the mercenary growled. "You want to see this, boss. We're at the vault, but we're not alone."

Skavak glanced over his shoulder and then fully turned when he saw her. Alico was pretty sure his grin reflected her own. He started laughing.

"Too perfect," he exclaimed. "I love it when everything comes together like this. How's life treating you, Captain? You enjoying my ship and all my stuff? What about that two-faced Risha?"

Boy, she really hated it when he referred to her ship as his. As far as his junk went, he could have it and stuff it somewhere not even the Rot would dare to go. Of course, she could never let him see her get riled up because of him, and besides… profiting off of his deals was a far better prelude to her revenge.

"We're doing great, thanks," she replied with a wink. "Risha says 'hello'."

"Yeah, I bet you girls stay up late—listening to music, talking about who you'll marry when you grow up."

"How did you know?" she asked with feigned surprise. "I'll give you a hint. It's not you."

He chuckled. "In your dreams, sweetheart. Still owe you for that mess on Coruscant. You have any idea the grief I'm taking?"

"Unfortunately, I can only imagine, but if you have any holos of the juicier incidents, I'd love to get some copies."

He shrugged. "I could kill everybody who cracks a joke, but that's a lot of work. So why don't you just die already?"

"I'm ready to settle this whenever you are."

"Glad to hear you're on board with the plan." He gave her one of his slimy grins accompanied this time with a wink before he turned back to his hireling. "Roksur, I want you and the boys to spare no effort killing my friend. Make it as painful as possible."

"Outsourcing your promises again, Skavak?" Alico laughed. "And here I remember you saying you'd kill me yourself. When are you going to get it that your hired guns can't take me?"

Skavak smirked. "I'm going to enjoy this."

"You heard the boss," Roksur rattled. "Fry this fool!"

There were very few quick-draws faster than Alico, and this Roksur was definitely not one of them. She put a laser blast between his eyes before he took two steps. Corso's blaster rifle made short work of the idiots with vibroblades. She holstered her blaster and slapped her hands together as if dusting off the grime. She stepped over Roksur's corpse and yanked the holocommunicator from the dirt. Skavak folded his arms over his chest.

"This doesn't change anything, Captain," he said.

"Nothing you ever did changed a thing, Skavak," she replied. "The _Nostalgia for Infinity_ is _my_ ship. And now so is the treasure. It's been fun." She blew him a kiss. "I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

"Count on it, sweetheart."

Alico grinned and laid the holocommunicator on the ground, still active with Skavak's tiny projection. She wanted him to watch her walk out of there with the loot. She never once looked back.


	5. A Goodnight Holocall

**Chapter Five – A Goodnight Holocall**

The first thing she'd done after getting off Taris was shower. She stared in the mirror and swiped a brush through her short hair with tired resignation. She wasn't much for grooming but now that a handsome farm boy was prowling the ship she wanted to keep up appearances. She'd seen him without a shirt and admired the many muscles he had accumulated and honed. He was sweet, too; too sweet, maybe, but he definitely had the hots for her and that was something she could work with. It had been awhile since she had been with anybody and all the excitement since Ord Mantell was catching up to her in the most frustrating way possible.

Alico dropped the brush and ran her long, thin fingers over her hair. No bumps or cowlicks to be seen. She stood up and stared at her figure in the short, thin, pale yellow nightgown. Her breasts filled it out nicely considering she had such a slight frame; she'd always considered herself lucky to have a bit more than height-to-weight ratio said she was allowed to have. Her legs looked good, too. Strong and slim—not too skinny like certain cuts of pants made her look.

Satisfied with her test run, she pushed back the fluffy comforter on her bed and was just climbing in when her holocommunicator started beeping. She brought it to bed with her and let the call through.

"Heya, Captain." Skavak was grinning.

"Twice in one day?" she mused. "I think you have a crush on me, Skavak."

"You wish, sweetheart." He looked like he was about to say something when he stopped to take her in. Even in such a small projection, she could tell he was checking her out. "What are you wearing?" he asked, two parts intrigue and one part desire mixed in his tone. "You put that thing on just for me?"

"Opening the Vault was a full day," she told him. "I need my beauty sleep."

"I hear you, Captain, only I'm wide awake and lonely after that nasty rumor you spread about me. I'm holding you responsible for my condition." He stroked his chin and tilted his head. "That nightgown is a good start."

"Aw, did you want a bedtime story, Skavak?"

"Only if you promise a happy ending," he said and his voice was low and husky.

"Once upon a time, there was a dirty, rotten, ship-stealing pirate named Skavak who crossed the wrong smuggler, a beautiful starship captain named Alico. She showed him up at every turn and took her ship back. If he ever stops being a coward and faces her like a man, she'll kick his balls in."

"Mmm," he moaned. "I love it when you talk dirty, Captain."

"Then you'll love how the story ends," she assured him in a sultry tone. "Would you like to help me finish it, Skavak?"

"Love to, Captain. You see, the story ends when this dashing pirate turns the beautiful, schutta starship captain into his groveling pleasure slave before he kills her and takes his ship and his fortune and flies away."

"You have such an imagination, Skavak," she said, pretending to be impressed. "That's why you're so charming. My stories are always grounded in reality but you—your mind is in the stars. It's amazing, really."

"That nightgown is amazing. Great material for what's next." He scoured her figure and she was pretty sure what was 'next' but didn't want it confirmed. "This was fun, Captain. We'll have to do it again sometime before I kill you."

"Hey, I'm not the one skippin' out on our dates, Skavak." Alico shifted in bed while grabbing her blaster from the nightstand, drawing her legs up so that her arms propped against her knees with the blaster barrel hanging right in the way of him seeing anything up her gown. "I'm ready for you," she whispered. "Any time, any place."

"Nice, sweetheart," he said, exhaling a hot breath through his nostrils. "I'll put that one in my personal collection. Sweet dreams, Captain."


	6. Honeybunch

**Chapter Six – Honeybunch**

The girl known as Feylara was just about as tall as Alico was only she was much thicker with a round face, thick thighs, birthing hips, and a well-endowed chest. She had trapped herself behind a ray shield and was smiling like a school girl at Alico's approach.

"Hi there," she said in her mousy yet nasally voice. "Was starting to think you wouldn't show."

"Us girls have to stick together," Alico replied casually.

"Aw, that's sweet. I didn't think you'd be so nice and pretty. Why couldn't you have been ugly and mean? You remind me of my sister and I really like her. Just so you know, this isn't personal." Uh oh. "I have to kill you. But it's for love," she said, adding that last part as though it justified the whole ordeal.

"No one's ever tried to kill me for love before," Alico mused. Feylara giggled, twisting her fingers together in girlish excitement. Alico wondered how she had missed inheriting all those girly genes but was nevertheless thankful for it.

"It's romantic, right?" she squealed in delight. "See this wavy light around my body? It's a ray shield. Blaster fire can't get in or out!" She giggled, impressed with herself. "Neat, huh?"

"Yeah," Alico agreed and turned to go. "I'm leaving."

"Sorry! I magnetically sealed all the hatches behind you."

Alico rolled her eyes and turned back to the crazy girl as she pulled out her holocommunicator and made a call. None other than Skavak appeared over the line. Alico had seen that one coming a mile off.

"Skavak?" she whispered excitedly. "It's me, Feylara!" More giggles. "Surprise!"

"Uh…" He _was_ surprised. "Long time no see, sweetheart. How'd you get this holofrequency?"

Alico almost snorted as she held in her laughter. Bowdaar grumbled amusedly next to her.

"Does it matter?" Feylara asked. "I've missed you so much, honeybunch."

"I miss you, too," Alico said, prompting Skavak to turn and face her, "honeybunch."

"What is this, Captain?" he asked. "You making an army out of my ex-girlfriends?"

"It's not like that at all," Feylara whined. "This is your nemesis, right? The captain who stole your ship on Coruscant and made you look stupid?"

"Good times," Alico chuckled. "Why don't I leave you lovebirds alone?"

"Got a better idea," Skavak said. "I'll leave. Can't think of a better punishment for you."

Alico smiled wide and he just stared at her, even as his ex-girlfriend continued to talk.

"Don't be like that. You know you love me," Feylara insisted.

"You love this girl, Skavak?" Alico teased.

"You're just afraid of commitment," Feylara told him.

"So that's what's been coming between us all this time," Alico gasped, pretending to wipe away a tear.

"That's a whole new kind of punishment I've got for you, Captain," Skavak murmured.

"I can prove how much I love you, honeybunch!" Feylara exclaimed, cutting into their banter. "I'm killing this nemesis for you."

Bowdaar growled. _Pretty lady has crazy eyes_, he said. Alico nodded in agreement.

"Get her, boys!"

Hidden among the junk piles were several droids. They sprung up at Feylara's command and hoisted blasters. Alico and Bowdaar immediately dove out of the way as a volley of blaster fire sprayed the air where they had been standing. Her blaster was in her hand before her shoulder hit the ground. A few pellets took down adjacent droids, knocking them out of the fight, but that still left half a dozen for her and Bowdaar to take care of.

She shot off several rounds at the nearest droid and then rolled out of the way, hitting her stealth generator as she did. Then she was on her feet and moving. Across the way, Bowdaar overpowered two droids with sheer strength, ripping their arms and heads out of socket. Alico snuck up behind her quarry and shot it right through the exposed circuits on its neck. She lobbed a thermal grenade at the next target and ducked behind a scrap heap. There was a loud boom and smoking circuits flew in a hundred directions. A metal hand landed near her feet. She kicked it away and peaked over the scrap, reactivating her stealth generator. Two left, one for her and one for the Wookiee. She tossed a sabotage detonator that suck fast to the droid and beeped as she charged her shot. She struck the bomb and it exploded just as Bowdaar overpowered the last of the droids.

Alico stepped out of stealth as she and Bowdaar approached Feylara once more. Skavak was still on the holo, watching her casually as though he expected nothing less. It was almost like they were old friends. There was a cosmic joke only the two of them were in on, affording them a strange sense of intimacy Alico hadn't expected to achieve with Skavak of all people. She wouldn't hesitate to vape him when the time came, but she did feel some sense of sadness that it was going to have to turn out like that.

"Wow, you're really good," the girl groaned.

"Risha'll never let me hear the end of this," Alico mumbled.

"The guy who sold me those droids said they were top-of-the-line," Feylara complained. "I want a refund."

"Don't be too hard on him. Bowdaar and I are top-of-the-line, too."

"Your arrogance is something else, Captain," Skavak said. "Reminds me of myself. It's kind of sexy."

"Did you really expect me to get taken out by your ex-girlfriend and her scrap heap?"

"Not even for a second," Skavak replied. "You're all mine."

"I thought for sure I had enough droids to kill you…" Feylara rasped with her cheeks flushed bright red; she didn't even seem to notice the flirting. "I'm so embarrassed. Uh, let's just call this even. With my ray shield on, you can't hurt me."

"Feylara, how are you powering that ray shield?" Skavak asked, amusement hedging his tone as he finally turned to look at her.

"Portable battery pack."

"You know those only last a few minutes, right?"

As if on cue, the ray shield puttered out and disappeared. Feylara stared blankly at them.

"Oh no," she droned.

"Guess your three minutes are up," Alico whispered.

"Honeybunch! My shield is down!" she cried. "What am I gonna do?"

"I donno… die?" Skavak replied coldly. He glanced over his shoulder. "Kill you later, Captain."

"Honeybunch! Wait!" But he was already gone, just like Skavak. "He… he hung up," she gasped. Feylara immediately started blubbering. "I thought he loved me."

"Skavak doesn't love anybody," Alico told her, wondering why she of all people had to be teaching one of his ex-girlfriends this.

"My friends all said he was after my money," she said, voice rattling so badly as she sobbed that it was sometimes hard to tell what she was saying, "but they didn't know how he made me feel!"

"Ah, just, uh…" Alico hesitantly reached out to pat her on the shoulder, "just go ahead and, uh, cry if it makes you feel better."

Feylara lunged forward and latched onto her in a tight hug, blubbering uncontrollably. Alico went wide-eyed, looking at Bowdaar for support. He just shrugged at her. She glared at him. He took a moment to reanalyze the situation and then shrugged again. Alico's shoulders slumped in defeat. After a moment that seemed to last an eternity, Feylara finally detached herself, wiping her eyes and nose on her sleeves. Skavak had been right—there wasn't a worse punishment.

"I'm sorry I tried to kill you," she sniffled. "Do you forgive me?"

"Only if you let me out of here."

"I unsealed all the hatches so you can go. I'm sorry," she squeaked and started crying again, "about everything!"

Alico ran for the exit before she got hugged again.


	7. Dare

**Chapter Seven – Dare**

Try as she might to think about Corso's rippling muscles or sweet disposition, all her thoughts came full circle back to Skavak. When she wasn't thinking about killing him and how their final showdown would play out, she was remembering how it felt pressed up against him or the vicious twirl in her stomach when he kissed her. She was frustrated, having gone too long without a man to warm her up, and now that she was losing herself to her fantasies, all of the ones she had featured the man she hated the most.

It was her own fault, she knew. She had obsessed over him for so long, been rendered so frustrated by him, so greatly desired his humiliation, suffering, and demise… that she had unwittingly made him the sole trigger of her desires, sexual and otherwise. No, no. It was impossible. She despised him. And yet the idea of him burying his fingers inside of her gave her the same thrill that imagining sticking a techblade in his gut gave her.

She thought about breaking out the holos just so she could see him again. Purely for research purposes, she told herself. She had a whole chipset dedicated to him now. It could never hurt to review the conversations again. It could never hurt to revisit the curves of his muscular body and the husky sound of his voice to double—triple ensure she would never forget him.

Of course she would never forget him. It was impossible to think about anyone but him. Frustrated and disgusted with herself, she kicked her shoes into a corner. That's when the familiar beep of the holocommunicator started going off. No one but Skavak would call her this late. She picked up the transmission faster than she wanted to.

"You miss me already?" she asked when he appeared before her.

"I was hoping to catch you before bed again."

"You did. I was just about to slip out of my clothes and into the sheets." Alico took her jacket off, exposing the thermal underneath. She felt like teasing him a little. "Tonight, I'm wearing nothing to bed."

"Don't let me stop you."

"I can spare a few moments for my favorite nemesis. We didn't get to talk much between the droids and your ex-girlfriend. How are you, Skavak?"

"Fantastic. Making deals, plotting and scheming, and laying the ground-work for your ultimate demise."

"Ooh, I can hardly wait to see what sort of lame trap you'll catch me in next."

"Trust me, Ali. You'll enjoy it."

"Ali?" She quirked a brow and grinned. "You giving me pet names already?"

"Don't get your hopes up, sweetheart. I was trying it out. Turns out you're the longest relationship I've ever had with a woman."

"That's sweet. Speaking of, I missed you interfering in my last payoff. Did you finally give up on killing me yourself?"

"Don't kid yourself. I can't chase you around all day, sweetheart. I've got my own deals to make."

"Small time in comparison."

"There's nothing you have that I can't steal."

The quick banter back and forth was making it impossible for her to wipe her smirk off of her face. She had to admit when she wasn't chasing him down to recover her stolen starship, Skavak was a lot of fun. She couldn't help but tease him some more.

"They say the best things in life are free…" she murmured, "and I'm the best."

"Don't be a tease, Captain," he purred. "My heart is fragile."

"I didn't know you had one."

"Mm, there's a lot about me you don't know. But we can fix that." He stroked his chin, eyeing her up and down. "Can't say I never thought about you and me together."

"Between the paranoia and betrayals, I'm sure we'd have some real fun."

"Without a doubt. Too bad we'll never find out. Too big a risk."

"You're right," she agreed. "Feylara might try to kill me again."

"Jealous, Captain? It suits you."

"I don't like to share." Alico pulled the thermal off, leaving just her tank top behind. Skavak's eyes lit up with desire. "You know, I was thinking, this ship is big enough and the treasure's already going a few ways. You might as well give up this grudge and join my crew."

She couldn't believe it had popped out of her mouth, but there it was, spoken with all the sarcasm and jesting and flirtation they had become accustomed to speaking with. She wasn't sure she'd turn him down if he agreed, but she knew deep down inside that it was something he would never go for. He was too much like her.

It sickened her how alike they were.

"That's sweet, darling, but I'll have to pass."

"That's cruel. I get lonely, too."

"Yeah?" He smirked. "Have Corso comfort you."

"Are _you_ jealous, Skavak? Afraid I won't have enough cuddle time for the both of you?"

"I don't like sharing, either."

"You can't share what you never had."

There was a moment when Skavak didn't speak. He just looked at her as though processing what she had said like he couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe it either.

"Is that an invitation or a dare?" he asked.

"Take it as a bit of both—if you're man enough. I'll even tell you where I'm going to be. Anchorhead, Tatooine."

"You're serious."

"Guess you'll have to find out."

Alico grinned and hung up, letting his silence be her victory.


	8. Ruin You

**Note: **There is mature content in this chapter! You have been warned!

* * *

**Chapter Eight – Ruin You**

Alico's eyes popped open to the darkness, moonlight filtering in through the open window with the desert breeze. Skavak stood over her with a blaster aimed at her skull, his body half cast in shadow. She hadn't expected him to really come but she had hoped he might. When she booked her room at the cantina, she thought she had been too forward to tell him where she was, but logic told her that even if he did come, Anchorhead was a big place and finding her wouldn't be easy.

She shouldn't have underestimated him. Deep down inside, she was pretty sure she hadn't. She was too thrilled to see him standing there.

Her hand instinctively and inconspicuously went to the vibroknife under the pillow. He clucked his tongue and lifted his shadowed arm, showing her the knife he'd retrieved. It caused her stomach to whirl in excitement.

"We're too much alike, Captain," he mused quietly. In just a few words, she could hear the thick desire in him.

"What about the one behind the headboard?" she asked, smirking a little.

"You're bluffing."

He closed the distance between her and the bed, hooked the blaster barrel under the sheet, and tossed it away from her. She wasn't wearing much—a shirt and some underwear. He reached down and used both hands to gently remove her underwear. She felt the cold metal of the blaster on her hip and thigh, competing with the lingering heat of a hot Tatooine day. Then, contrasting his gentle behavior, he slipped the vibroknife under her shirt and cut it away.

She lay very still while he drank her in, still pointing that blaster at her. She knew he wouldn't use it, not with that hooded look in his eyes, but she wasn't going to take any unnecessary chances in case he wasn't sure she had no intention of trying to one-up him.

"This is a one-time-only, Captain. Come morning, I'm off this rock and we go back to trying to kill each other."

"One night," she nodded. "I promise to play by the rules if you do."

Suddenly he tossed the blaster and knife to the couch across the room and pulled his shirt off. His chest was just as honed and muscled as she had remembered feeling back on Coruscant. He knelt on the bed and lowered his face to her neck and shoulder. His breath tickled her already sensitive skin and the smell of his cologne caused her eyes to pleasantly close.

"This doesn't change anything between us, Captain," he murmured huskily, his mouth ghosting over her body.

"Nothing," she agreed breathily. "I still hate your guts."

"I know." As he passed over her chest, his tongue flicked out to lick one of her nipples before moving on. Her chest rose with a sharp intake of breath. He drifted over her stomach, causing it to tighten in anticipation. He paused when he reached her pelvis, turning his head to breathe in the scent clinging to her thighs. "You're going to hate me even more after this."

Skavak dove into her core and Alico's head snapped back in sheer pleasure. She didn't know exactly what he was doing down there, but whatever it was caused her stomach to knot excitedly and all of the nerves in her body to tingle. He gripped her thighs firmly as they fought to clench around his head, lifting her a little off the bed to give his tongue deeper access to her depths. She gasped, fingers tightening around her pillow as she struggled to contain herself. He was right. She definitely hated him even more. She hated him so much she didn't want him to stop.

Men had done this to her before but it had never been like this. Their rendition of oral sex had been mildly entertaining at best but Skavak had tricks that left her writhing. And he didn't quit after a couple of minutes or bother to come up for air. He devoured her like his favorite meal and she melted in his mouth. One hand went to his head, fingers tangling in his hair, and he groaned into her skin.

Her breathing fluttered, muscles clenching, and that's when he pulled away—before she could find a release. His hand glided roughly down her thigh and up her hip as he crawled over her. Alico knew the look she wore, knew it was impossible to hide just how astounding he had made her feel.

"So that's how you got all the girls," she noted breathily.

"No, sweetheart," he said with a quick grin. "That's how I kept them."

Skavak kissed her in one long and firm kiss, sharply breathing in. Her fingers ran up his strong arms and gripped his shoulders, legs rubbing against his as the scent of his cologne and her sex mingled in her nose. He tasted like she remembered, he tasted like her, he tasted so good and it turned her on. He drew back for a single breath and kissed her again, this time exploring her mouth with his tongue.

"Don't expect the same trick to work on me," she warned him.

"If you think you can resist me, Captain, you're welcome to try."

As he kissed her again, her chest expanded with heat, seeking the hard planes of his chest to tame her, but he maintained the crouch above her as he devoured her. And what a kisser he was. She hadn't expected someone as selfish as Skavak to be so expert at pleasing others. Either he was damn lucky or he had painstakingly mastered the art of seduction and lovemaking.

As they explored one another's mouths, he reached behind the bed and pulled out her hidden vibroknife. He broke the kiss and stared at it in awe before gazing at her.

"Oh you bitch," he murmured affectionately. "I could almost fall in love with you."

As he tossed the knife away, he dove into her mouth with a new energy, kissing her with a hunger she matched. They rolled this way and that, tangling up in one another, their hands roving over their bodies in anxiousness to map out every curve and line.

"They say sex is like war, Captain…" he whispered between kisses, working to undo the buttons on his pants. "Up for a wager on how this thing between us will end?"

"I enjoy a good bet," she told him, pinning him against the headboard and tugging his pants off. "Sex is like war, huh?" As she returned to kiss him, her fingers found his erection and playfully stroked the velvety skin. "So… the first to come loses?"

"Not a good deciding factor, Captain. I'm going to bring you there at least twice." He flipped her onto her back and pressed against her, his erection hard against her stomach. "First to say the other's name is the loser."

"Terms?" she demanded, slipping her hand between their bodies so she could continue to caress his arousal.

"Titles don't count," he told her, a pleasured grunt interrupting him. "I can call you Captain all I want."

"Nicknames count," she insisted, gently squeezing his length.

"Deal," he conceded with a hot sigh.

And then their passion was unleashed. They rolled around, kissing and touching like animals in heat. His fingers sought the hot depths of her core and she immediately clenched around him, body responding to what she knew would be pleasure beyond anything she had known before. As he dexterously worked her most sensitive center, she found herself grinding against him, desperately seeking that release he had denied her earlier.

She groaned as she bounced on his fingers, surprised he was strong enough to hold her up even in her thrashing excitement, and embarrassed that he was driving her to the point of losing control. She was glad their bet hadn't been on who would come first or else she'd be desperately close to losing. At this rate, however, his name was going to pop out of her mouth without her consent. She needed to dial it back, focus on his pleasure, push him over the edge—but _Force_ she felt good, and she was so close. She could feel it rising within her, a roaring wave threatening to break against her.

And then his ministrations stopped and he withdrew his hand. She gasped raggedly at him, tortured by the denial.

"You promised at least twice," she complained. He grinned, inciting her hatred and her desire all at once.

"Slow down, gorgeous," he growled. "We have all night and I don't plan on wasting a second of it."

"All night?" she echoed, intrigued. "Can you last that long?"

"You have no idea what I'm capable of," he said, but it was more like a promise than a statement. If his performance thus far was any indicator, Alico had a pretty good idea exactly what he was capable of, and she couldn't wait to find out for herself. "You should see your face right now, Captain," he murmured, gently caressing her cheek. "You're completely hooked. I have you in the palm of my hand." He brought his fingers to her lips to stroke them but she parted her lips to take his fingers in her mouth instead. He hummed appreciatively. As his head tilted back, he mumbled, "Oh, Captain…"

There was no way she was going to let him get away with thinking he had her wrapped around his finger like one of his idiot ex-girlfriends. She was going to make him scream her name by the time she was done with him. As she sucked his fingers, she pushed him up against the wall in a sitting position then straddled him. His erection hovered just below her core, occasionally brushing against the sensitive, swollen skin. His hips reflexively rose, the tip nudging at her slit in warm desire, but she denied him.

"I'm going to ruin you," she whispered, drifting down to bite his chest. "I'm going to ruin other women for you. After me, you'll never be satisfied the same way." She blazed a trail of wet kisses and gentle bites down his hard abdomen and stomach. "You'll try, and you'll probably lie and pretend nothing's changed… but after me, you'll never want another woman like you'll want me."

"Don't delude yourself, Captain," he groaned as her hot breath pulsed over his erection.

"Never," she promised, and then took his full length in her mouth.

Skavak was not the only one with tricks. In spite of having spent most of her career as a solo act, Alico had learned how to please her partners. She rarely indulged unless there was a romantic commitment involved and her desire to wreck her lover's world with sexual satisfaction had always been a priority. As she sucked and tongued and massaged his manhood, she listened to his groans and grunts with approval. His breathing hitched, became heavier and breathier. His body flexed appreciatively, hand grasping a fistful of her hair in pleasure. She brought him back into her throat, swallowing every drop that came out of him. His next groan was guttural.

"Captain…" he growled and she hummed in response, causing his hips to buck against her. He pulsed and throbbed in her mouth as she worked him and she wondered how long he would last. It would be gratifying to know she spent him so early in the night when he promised her hours of fun, but at the same time horrifically disappointing. "Oh, sweetheart," he muttered, hand gliding over the back of her head to find a better hold in her hair.

She hummed again and, after a few more moments, withdrew. She ran her tongue along his length before kissing her way back up his body. He gripped her arms and crushed his mouth against hers, scorching her mind clear of anything but him. Her inner thighs ached with longing and, unable to prolong their game any further, she sank onto him while his tongue was thrust into her mouth.

Skavak moaned and threw his head back. "Ali," he whispered. It was so faint and breathy that she almost missed it. When he realized what he had done, he stared hazily at her, mashing her lips with his thumb as he reached up to cup her cheek with his hand.

It had been a stupid bet to begin with. Neither one of them could base the outcome of their personal battle on who moaned the other's name first. It had been entirely an issue of pride, but both of them had been undone that night. Now that the deal was off, the restraints were broken.

Skavak bit her lip in a quick kiss as punishment before squeezing her against him and diving into her breasts, licking and sucking and nibbling at her nipples. He rocked in and out of her while she clung to him. He filled her up completely. She grinded on top of him, hips rotating and sinking into his every thrust. It wasn't long before she was shuddering on his length in a long-awaited orgasm.

"Skavak," she moaned as her legs trembled, all bets off. The sound of his name excited him.

He changed their position again so that he was pinning her to the bed. He hoisted her hips and rammed into her like she was a door he was trying to break down. She called out his name and he called out hers, over and over again. The pounding only lasted a few thrusts before he changed gears again, mellowing into a slower but equally as passionate pace. Just as promised, he lasted long into the night, so thorough in his attentions that what they were doing could almost be called making love, not just pure, unadulterated sex—it was that, too. And they continued to murmur each other's name, as though the earlier restriction had provoked them into liberal expression.

As he brought her to her second orgasm, he also came. There, sprawled on the wrinkled sheets, slick with sweat and sex and tangled together, they gasped for breath. Her whole body tingled with delight, electric from the ecstasy she had experienced.

"Mmm," Skavak hummed, panting. "That was definitely worth the risk."

Worth the risk? He was the best she had ever had. She had to give him that much. Maybe he was a second-rate smuggler but he was definitely a first-rate fuck. She hadn't expected that. As they lay there in the aftermath of their passions catching their breath, he started to get up but hesitated long enough for her to realize he was torn between leaving and staying.

"We promised a night," she reminded him. "You earned some sleep."

Alico rolled over and hugged her pillow, body melting in relaxation. After a moment, Skavak put his arm around her and his back rested flush against hers. He overwhelmed her physically and it felt nice to be enveloped like that. She thought back to the sex and wondered at a few of his actions. The rough, aggressive Skavak she had expected. It was the gentle, patient Skavak that she hadn't expected. It twisted the hatred in her heart, made her push back against his chest as if she could somehow be closer to his body. He groaned unconsciously, already deep in sleep, and tightened his arm around her. She let her mind wander to wherever it wanted as she succumbed to sleep, remembering the way he had whispered, "Ali… Ali… Alico…" in her ear over and over again.

As promised, he was gone by morning. He had taken only what he'd brought and left everything that belonged to her. Everything except the shirt he had ripped off of her with the vibroknife, which he had likely plundered as some kind of trophy. She had showered and dressed before Corso and Bowdaar had called on her. Somehow, she still smelled the scent of Skavak's cologne on her skin. It made her flesh burn hotter than normal under those Tatooine suns.


	9. Fantasies

**Chapter Nine – Fantasies**

The moment Peema Ahuff told her the head she had brought was a fake because the "real head" had already been delivered, Alico knew that Skavak had somehow one-upped her again. He hadn't interfered in her business on Tatooine, promising one night and one night only—a promise he had held to. And while she was running around in the desert, he had concocted a plan to screw her over. At least he had given her fair warning. She wasn't even surprised this time.

Alico relaxed against the wall as the curator anxiously and agitatedly dialed Skavak's holofrequency. He flickered into view just as Peema began his noble tirade.

"Captain Skavak? This is Noble Curator Peema Ahuff speaking. I demand that you return the Arkanian hyperdrive at once. The head you bought it with is a counterfeit."

Alico rolled her eyes. These nobles had no idea what they were getting into. _Maybe if you write Skavak a nasty letter,_ she thought, _he'll be more inclined to cooperate._

"Sorry, Peemie. I have a strict 'no refunds' policy," Skavak told him and then looked at her. He smiled wide. "Heya, Captain. You're a little late to the party."

"We really have to stop meeting like this," she purred.

"I promised you'd regret crossing me."

"You also promised to kill me yourself, but no luck there." She tilted her head. "Where'd you dig up a counterfeit head, Skavak?"

"On a battlefield, where else? People will buy anything if the case is fancy enough," he said and she shrugged. There was no denying facts. Skavak smirked at her and then looked at the curator again. "Hope you don't mind, Peemie, but Neva's taking an early retirement. She's too gorgeous for life in a museum."

So that was how he had gotten the counterfeit head verified. That figured. Alico wondered if he was saying it for her sake—to make her jealous—or just to piss off the curator.

"What?" Peema gasped. "You… you… menace! You corrupted that girl!"

"Wasn't that hard. Trust me."

Alico knew that was true. If he had pulled any of the tricks on Neva that he had on her, the girl would be falling over her face trailing after the man. Never at any point had Skavak tried to seduce her like he would try to seduce his usual space tarts, and she couldn't help but wonder what his opening line might be. She was immune, of course, and he knew it. That didn't mean an innocent little museum girl—or any girl he'd so far wooed into crime—knew a Bantha's butt from a Skavak lie.

"You won't have much use for women once me and Hewie get done with you, Skavak," Corso growled.

"You still got that giant vibrosword?" he asked. "What are you trying to compensate for, kid?"

"Corso doesn't have anything to prove," Alico chimed in nonchalantly. Skavak eyed her like he couldn't believe she'd said it. There was a split-second shadow of anger that crossed his face before he recovered, but she had seen it. His fault for trying to make her jealous with that line about Neva. It's not like she really knew about Corso's equipment, either. In spite of the farm boy's crush on her, he believed she was too good for him to pursue and she had never tried to convince him otherwise, too consumed by her hatred of Skavak that he was the only man in her mind.

"Aw, forgive me," Skavak pouted. "I didn't know you two had gotten so close." He laughed in his low, guttural way. "Oh, I wish I had a holo of your face right now, Ali. That expression is just priceless." He pointed at her. "Have fun eating my vapor trails…"

"This is unthinkable!" Peema exclaimed when Skavak hung up.

"You got that right," Alico murmured under her breath. Had he called her Ali on purpose or was it a slip of the tongue? She hoped no one else had noticed.

"Ali?" Corso asked. Damn. So much for no one noticing. "What's that all about?"

"I guess he got tired of his usual 'sweethearts' and 'darlings'."

"It's a bit personal, don't you think, Captain?"

"It's Skavak," she reminded him. "Everything is personal."

/

The empty hangar she had chased Skavak to smelled of a trap from lightyears away. That didn't stop her from walking into it, Corso in tow. The ringing of a holocommunicator only served as a warning and then, bam, the trap was sprung. A dozen mercenaries popped out from hiding seconds before Skavak appeared over the line.

"You didn't waste any time, did ya, Captain?" he asked. "Bet you ran quicker than a vyractul on hot sand—not that it mattered."

"How does he always manage to get away?" Corso exclaimed, and Alico wondered if he really hadn't seen it coming.

"Yeah, sorry I can't be there in person," he murmured, "but my sweet, little Neva is very sensitive to violence."

"Where are you dropping this poor girl, Skavak?" She glanced back at Corso. "Fifty creds says she doesn't even make it off planet."

"That's a solid bet, Captain," he agreed.

"That doesn't sound like me," Skavak said with feigned hurt, touching his chest as though he were wounded. "Don't be so ugly, sweetheart. Jealousy is a dark road. Don't worry though, my friends here will show you a good time."

"I'm sure it's a better time than you could show me," she countered. "Seems all your good for is running."

"You know that just isn't true, sweetheart," he shot back in a husky tone.

"What's wrong, Skavak?" Alico crossed her arms over her chest. "Afraid to face me yourself?"

"Nah, it's just, this way, I can watch you get slaughtered from every conceivable angle. Isn't technology wonderful?" He motioned to his mercenaries. "Captain, say hello to Sergeant Dutonian and his men. They were working freelance for the houses, but now they work for me."

"You hired a whole army to kill just us?" Corso asked. "I'm honored."

"The sergeant has graciously accepted my contract—on very short notice, I might add—to vaporize you."

"They should have stayed in bed," she murmured, immediately drawing her gun and landing a shot between one of the merc's eyes.

"Hit it, men!" the Sergeant yelled just as Corso dove for cover and Alico triggered her stealth generator.

The fighting lasted a handful of surreal minutes as she and her farm boy made short work of the mercs. All the hired guns Skavak had thrown her way had definitely given her a world of practice when it came to combat and now she had it down to a science. As Corso pulled the enemy gunfire on himself, she dispatched one merc after another from stealth, sometimes with a blaster to the head and sometimes with a scattergun shot to the back.

When Skavak's mercenaries were dead on the ground, Alico rolled her shoulders and popped her neck, trying hard to resist smirking when she walked up to Skavak's holoprojection.

"You're either the luckiest shot in the galaxy," he said, "or those were some seriously unlucky mercenaries. Guess I'll erase this holorecording."

"At least send me a copy of that holo first," she insisted.

"What, for your scrapbook? I hate to cut things short, but I got a swanky new hyperdrive to install! Love that Arkanian tech." He took a step forward like he could invade her personal space. "Take good care of the rest of my stuff, Captain. I'll be coming for it soon."

The sound of footsteps running toward her filled the hangar as Skavak disconnected the call. Alico turned to see Risha catching up to them.

"Just found out what's happening," she said, pausing only to catch her breath. "Sorry I'm late. The good news is I tracked Skavak's ship to House Thul's spaceport. He must have gone there to finish installing that hyperdrive. There's still time to get him."

Best news she'd heard all day.

"Let's go," Alico said, immediately heading for the exit.

"Throttle down, Captain," Risha said, reaching out to grab her arm. "It's not that simple."

Alico sighed. It never was.

/

Alico followed Risha through her ship as the well-dressed mechanic explained to her the next step of the plan. Their business on Alderaan had concluded and now it was looking like the only thing left to do was go for the treasure. At least, Alico hoped that was the case. She was getting tired of unloading Skavak's crap and running around the galaxy, getting involved in everyone's crazy problems.

"It won't take long to wire the Arkanian hyperdrive to the ship's engines," Risha said as they moved into the engine room, "and that anti-radiation shield will be a snap to build."

"What's so special about this Arkanian hyperdrive tech?" Alico wanted to know.

"It's one-hundred percent accurate for thirty parsecs." Damn. "Trust me, you need this." No arguments there. "I'll have those upgrades online in—" Her holocommunicator began beeping. "Hang on…" she mumbled, picking up the transmitter. Enthusiasm lit up her face like a super nova. "Oooh, this ought to be good." She pushed the button to accept the call. "Hello, Skavak. How's tricks?"

"Just fantasizing about killing you and your friend, sweetheart," he told her, immediately turning to face Alico. "Want to hear the details?"

Alico grinned excitedly. "In _my_ fantasy, you burn alive!"

Skavak chuckled. "My plan involves synthrope, a jar of dioche sauce, and a starving colony of kretch insects."

"I could probably get on board for a few of those things."

"Haven't you learned yet, Skavak?" Risha purred. "Cheaters never win. We're leaving Alderaan with all the prizes, and you're… well, stuck being you. "

"Have fun while it lasts, kids. The end of the ride is coming soon," he declared and hung up.

"Like I've never heard that before," Alico mumbled.

"I have to hand it to you, Captain," Risha said as she stowed the holo device. "You not only took care of business, but you made Skavak look like a fool."

"Yeah, it's gotten to be one of my favorite activities. I'm thinking about making it a full-time gig."

Risha laughed. "The only women Skavak understands are brainless tarts." She nodded at Alico and turned to get to work installing the hyperdrive. "You must be tilting his galaxy."

Alico remembered Skavak's little "slip" when he called her Ali and wondered if Risha was right.


	10. Hate You

**Chapter Ten – Hate You**

_All that for a stupid tiara_, Alico thought as she and Corso raced back to the _Nostalgia for Infinity_. _Nok is gonna have some serious explaining to do!_ The ship trembled as it drifted closer to the event horizon and Alico wondered if they hadn't already passed it. Would they even be able to make it off this hunk of metal?

As they sprinted into the hangar, a pair of boots came into view at the crest of her boarding ramp. She slid to a stop as Skavak stepped into her sightline with a blaster pointed directly at her.

"Heya, Captain," he said, smiling. "Bet you're surprised to see me."

"How the blazes did you get here?" Alico blurted, truly surprised by Skavak for the first time since he'd stolen her ship.

"I hitched a ride on the only ship that could make this trip—yours," he explained as he walked halfway down the ramp and took a seat. "See, I've always believed if you can't beat 'em, join 'em… and then beat 'em. So I stowed away back on Nar Shaddaa." He grinned like he was about to tell a joke only she would get. "Funny thing about Wookiees—they've got great, big lungs. Only takes a few breaths of happy gas to knock one out."

"Note to self: invest in some better locks," she mumbled, stomach sinking anxiously.

"Oh. You won't be needing those anymore," he assured her. "I wanna be civil about this. Sure, you've made my life miserable, but I don't hold a grudge. Really."

"I clearly haven't hurt you enough."

"Don't kid yourself, sweetheart. You haven't hurt me at all." The look on his face said something completely different. "Now what's it gonna be, Captain? Do I blast you here or are you gonna cooperate like a good girl?"

"The treasure's not what you thought, Skavak."

"Don't even _think_ about lying to me, Captain."

"Would I lie about that with a blaster pointed at my face and my ship falling into a black hole?" Alico asked, taking a step toward him. "This really isn't the place to discuss it. Can't we hash this out somewhere we're _both_ not liable to die?"

"So you can dump me in some Republic spaceport and jump to safety? I don't think so, sweetheart. We settle this here and now."

"It wouldn't be like that. Think about it, Skavak. We're so much alike…" She took another step closer. "We don't have to be enemies… do we?"

"What are you suggesting? That we split the treasure? Partners in crime—that sort of thing?"

"Why not? I know you're thinking it. If we weren't so busy trying to one-up each other all the time, we could really make something off of this galaxy. Between your connections and mine…"

"We would make a pretty solid team, I admit. But we already discussed this, sweetheart. Neither of us is good at sharing…"

"What's to share?" she wanted to know. "You keep your creds and I keep mine."

"Mmm. I can't deny there's something between us," he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "I wouldn't mind spending another night with you."

"Why stop at one?"

"Are you people out of your minds?" Corso exclaimed angrily. Alico briefly glanced over her shoulder at her farm boy who was frowning, baffled by what was unfolding in front of him, before looking back at Skavak.

"Go stand in a corner, kid," Skavak said lowly. "Your captain and I need a moment."

Corso looked at Alico with wide eyes, demanding an explanation. She just nodded and, much to her relief, he obeyed, heading for the ship while muttering under his breath. When he was out of ear shot, Alico reached out and grabbed Skavak by his shirt, yanking him into her mouth. Once he got over the surprise, his hands closed on her arms and he pulled her into his chest, devouring her mouth like a last meal.

"You're really something else, Ali," he murmured as he stepped back. "Too bad this could never work. Now hand over the treasure."

Alico forced herself to grin. "You were fun, Skavak. But the treasure's mine."

"You really are so cute when you're deluded," he said, aiming his blaster for her head. "I'm gonna miss you."

There was no way for her to smile when she said, "I'm gonna miss you, too."

His blaster fired off as soon as she entered stealth. Two seconds later, she emerged from stealth and punched him in the face, sending him sprawling. He squeezed the trigger, blaster fire chasing her across the hangar as she sprinted and dove for cover. She cried out when a blaster bolt struck her leg, cringing in pain as she pressed her back to the concrete slab. She hissed and examined the damage, deciding it was mostly a flesh wound—but Force did it sting.

When the fire paused, she tossed a sabotage charge in Skavak's direction but he dodged out of the way. By that time, Corso had arrived, running down the ramp at hearing the commotion and shooting with prejudice. She didn't see it, but from the shout Skavak gave, he must've been hit at least once.

Diving back into stealth, she scurried across the hangar as Skavak focused fire on Corso, pushing him back into the boarding alcove. She hoisted her scattergun and fired, knocking her nemesis to the ground and his blaster out of his hand. She had clearly penetrated whatever armor he wore beneath his jacket because she saw his face contort with pain. She tackled him as he scrambled for his blaster and they wrestled there on the ground, exchanging punches. She was small but she was a scoundrel, which meant she had a wicked right hook by default. The problem was, so did Skavak.

After a few moments of rolling around, he finally pinned her down. When his fist connected with her head, she lolled in pain, momentarily seeing stars. She heard Corso shout her name, concern in his voice. She felt Skavak's weight lift off of her and she kicked like a fish out of water to get on her feet, pain like a spike splitting her skull. She doubled over onto her knees but managed to crash her blaster over Skavak's head before he could take hold of his weapon. She sucker punched him right in the jaw—once, twice—and then whipped her elbow into his cheekbone, knocking him onto the ground. Her blaster—Flashy—immediately came up and zeroed in on her fallen foe.

Skavak lay there very still, bruised and bleeding and dying. He was done, and they were all of them dangerously close to never escaping the event horizon. Alico limped over to Skavak's prone form and dropped to the knee of her good leg, fishing Torchy off of his belt. She tossed it over to Corso, listening as it clanked and skittered on the ground.

"Torchy!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I've missed you! I'll never let you out of—"

"Corso!" she called, interrupting his revelry. "Get inside. Make sure we're ready for takeoff."

"You got it, Captain!" he said and hurried back into the ship.

Alico and Skavak stared at one another for a long time, both wheezing for air, tired and wounded. She wiped the blood off her lip with the back of her hand, blaster hanging limply in her grasp.

"What're you waiting for, Captain?" he rasped with all of his usual arrogance. "You don't expect me to beg, do you?"

"Not even a little bit," she assured him. "You wouldn't give me the satisfaction. I wouldn't give it to you, either."

"I always said we were a lot alike."

"Yeah…" she agreed quietly, flexing her fingers against her blaster grip. She tapped the barrel gently against her head as she regarded him. "I hate you. I hate you so much. I hate your guts."

"I know, sweetheart."

Alico lowered her blaster and let her arm rest over her knee. He stared at her passively, pain the only obvious feeling. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, what emotion filled him; it wasn't anger or hatred, she could read that much.

"I told you I'd ruin you, but I'm the one who fell for you. Normally I'd consider this a loss, but since I can't stop kicking your ass, I'm inclined to let you have this one victory." She tore her gaze away from him and looked at her ship. "I'm going to leave you for dead. It's impossible you'll find some way out of this mess, but you always were bizarrely lucky when not pitted against me…" Without ever looking at him, she dropped a kolto injection just beyond the reach of his fingers. "Goodbye, Skavak."

Alico stood up and stepped over his body, holstering her blaster as she walked back to her ship. She didn't close the boarding ramp until she was in the cockpit and sitting in the captain's chair.

"Prepare to jump," she told Corso as she eased the _Nostalgia for Infinity_ out of the hangar.

"You got it, Captain," he said happily, inputting the jump coordinates.

"Just for today, Corso, don't call me 'Captain'."

She felt Corso's eyes on her but was too somber to meet his gaze and pretend she was just as satisfied as he was.

"Sure thing, Cap—ma'am."

"Let's get out of here," she said as she spun up the hyperdrive and took them into lightspeed.


	11. Deal

**Chapter Eleven – Deal**

The best thing about crew vacations was the privacy. With her business with Nok Drayen, Rogun the Butcher, and the Republic over and done with, there wasn't a lot to do requiring a full-time crew, and yet they had all insisted on sticking with her. It made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So she had granted them a vacation and dropped them off planet-side to the various places they had wanted to go.

And as for Alico, she had picked a planet at random and jumped to hyperspace, soon finding herself orbiting Cato Neimoidia. It was a lovely aquamarine colored gem with streaks of thick, ivory clouds that hugged the sphere. She poured herself a few fingers of Corellian whiskey and relaxed in the cockpit, taking in the silence and the scenery in utter contentment.

An hour ticked by as she lazily sipped her drink, liquor warming her to the core. She heard footsteps in the corridor and instinctively thought it was Corso coming to check up on her. Then she realized she was alone except for SeeToo and knew it must be the droid come to alert her to some trivial and useless bit of information. Her final thought came too late—when the footsteps had stopped right behind her—and that thought was that the footsteps she heard were definitely boots on metal, not the clanking of droid feet.

Alico's jaw clenched as she swiveled her chair around to face the stowaway. Skavak filled the doorway, a blaster aimed directly at her, and he was smiling; aside from his wardrobe, little had changed about him. Her heart began hammering in her chest as she stared at him, trapped somewhere between disbelief, relief, and reevaluation of her choices in life.

"Heya, Captain," he said in that same way he had always greeted her. "Miss me?"

"How the blazes did you get here?" she uttered, still in shock.

"I missed you, too," he replied smugly. "Needless to say, you never did invest in those locks. As for being alive… use your imagination. I'm sure you can figure it out."

Alico lifted her tumbler to her mouth and took a sip before offering it to him. He nodded appreciatively and tipped the rest of it back in one gulp.

"So you wait until I send out my crew and fly into the middle of nowhere to exact you revenge?" she asked, unable to deny that it sounded pretty solid.

"Brilliant, right?"

"You've had worse plans," she agreed with a shrug.

"All my plans were brilliant, Captain. You just had to ruin them."

"Stealing my ship wasn't such a good one," she told him, standing up and leisurely walking around the small space. The rush of alcohol went straight to her head and she hoped she didn't sway like she thought she might've.

"It was flawless, Captain. I got off Ord Mantell without a hitch, dodging you twice, all the way to Coruscant." He shrugged one shoulder. "The end game didn't work out the way I wanted, I'll admit, which is why I'm here now."

"Can't let a girl have a vacation, can you? I've been really busy since we stopped harassing each other, you know."

"I know. I've been keeping tabs on you, Captain. Thing is, I realized something that night at the black hole. I hate you, too." He waved the blaster at her, arrogance and confidence flying out of him at full strength. "I hate everything about you. And that's probably why I can't get you out of my head. I'm going to need you to take responsibility for that, sweetheart."

Maybe it was the alcohol, but her stomach was knotting up and doing flips and her heart was thundering against her chest. She couldn't help but grin as she idly toyed with buttons and switches on the side panel, trying not to look at him but unable to stop herself from doing so.

"Make me an offer," she said as casually as she could, "and we'll see."

"The deal is simple. We split the winnings 50-50, and I share you with no one."

"Loot's 25," she told him. "We split earnings with crew."

"You're holding yourself back, sweetheart," he said, holstering his blaster, and conceded with a nod. "And the rest of it? We have a deal or have you been hookin' up power couplings with Corso?"

"Don't you know a bluff when you hear one?" She tilted her head and tried not to smirk, remembering something he had once said to her. "Were you jealous, Skavak? Looks good on you."

"I just don't like thinking anyone else has seen you in that little nightgown."

"Just this one guy who turned out to be a real bastard of a thief that tried to kill me a few times." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Best sex I ever had, though."

"Is that so?" he asked, a dark, hooded look in his eyes. "You know, there's something I've been meaning to do since I got here."

In the blink of an eye, he reached across the room, hooked an arm around her waist, and pulled her flush against him, kissing her hard and deep. Her fingers curled into his sleeves, clinging to him. She momentarily thought back to their first meeting on Ord Mantell—about how forgettable his face had been. If she had told the Alico back then that one day all she would want to do would be to kiss the lips on that face, she would've died from laughter… or shot herself.

Skavak backed her into the wall and pinned her against it before picking her up by her thighs and wrapping them around his hips as he kissed her.

"So, do we have a deal?" he murmured against her mouth, hands roaming the curves of her backside.

"That depends. Am I sharing you with anyone? You know I don't like sharing."

"I'm only gonna say this once, Captain," he told her. "You ruined other women for me."

"Skavak," Alico grinned, "we have a deal."

**The End**


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